2016 Facebook Basics

Intro to Facebook:

Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world with over a billion users. Since it's important to be marketing your business where your target audience is, there is a good chance at least part of your target audience can be found on Facebook. If you're just getting started with using social media we recommend using Facebook.

1. Creating an account - to start using Facebook you'll need to set up an account. Click here for directions on how to set up an account. We also recommend downloading the free Facebook mobile app since it makes the platform easier to use when you are not in front of a computer.

2. Messaging - direct messaging on Facebook can be a great way to communicate with some of your current or potential customers, especially when being helpful and answering questions for them. Facebook also has a free messaging app that you can download to make it easier to communicate with clients outside of the office.

3. Photos - Facebook is a great place to share photos such as happy customers, upcoming open houses, and new listings. You can share one photo or create an album depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Here are some directions on how to upload and post photos. Facebook makes it easy for people to share photos as well, so if you take the time to build up a community and post some quality photos of a new listing there's a good chance it can be shared not only within your community but with their circles and so on. It's important to also note that while getting professional photos can be beneficial, an iPhone camera will work fine when posting photos to Facebook.

4. Videos - Facebook is also a great place to post valuable videos for your customers. Some good examples maybe a quick tour inside a new listing or a live Q&A session where you answer industry questions for your audience. Here are some good directions on how to post a video, tag people in it, what formats can be used, etc. Many people get intimidated by the idea of posting videos, but note that videos to not need to be perfect or the highest of quality. Try to find some decent lighting but know that a camera such as an iPhone is high-quality enough for social media videos. These don't need to be perfect in fact slight imperfections in videos can help you and your staff appear more personable to potential customers.

6. Groups - Groups on Facebook can be a great tool for communication and to share upcoming events like an Open House or Live Q&A session to a very targeted segment of your customer base. You can set groups to private or public depending on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are wanting to create a group here are some good steps to get started.

8. Facebook Ads - There is a ton of Facebook resources for your business and targeted Facebook ads can be a very good investment to help grow your customer base. Facebook can help you reach your business goals by helping you drive online sales, increase local sales, and raise awareness of your business. If you need some good ideas of how companies have grown their businesses using Facebook we definitely recommend going to their success stories page. In the business section of their site you can also find all the information you need to know about how to create and manage Facebook ads.